Access 2000 to Access 97 (97/SR2)

A friend of mine is doing some contact work for a local company. She is moving across the country and I'm going to take it over. Everything that she has done is in Access 2000. I have Access 97 and am not interested in upgrading just yet, (kind of waiting for XP to shakeout).

Can the 2000 database be saved in 97 format? And, if so, are there any problems that I should be on the lookout for? Thanks.

Re: Access 2000 to Access 97 (97/SR2)

Yes, but only from Access 2000, not from 97. A2k has Tools-->Database Utilities-->Convert Database to convert the database to the prior Access version. However, success or failure will depend a lot on how much of the new features of Access 2000 were used in developing the database. I haven't had any trouble backsaving 2000 databases unless things like disconnected or persisted recordsets, or functions like Split(), Join() and Replace() were used. If they were, you would have to code replacements for the functons and totally rewrite code using disconnected or persisted recordsets.

It's just my opinion, but I'd suggest you not wait for XP. The learning curve is steep between Access 97 and 2000 and it won't get any easier if you wait for XP. Start learning 2000 now and you may be better prepared for XP when you get it.